Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace

When I was 7 years old, my dad was a pastor at a church in Pascoe Washington. The sanctuary of that church had a large stained-glass picture of Jesus on the wall above the baptistry. I can remember staring at that picture when we would sing this song. Last week, sitting in my car in the parking lot of my church, I immediately became that 7-year-old girl, staring into the face of Jesus. I thought about those words, and what we have all been going through over the past months.

Oh, soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Are you weary? Are you troubled? I think we can all say that we are weary. I am weary of the constant change and the constant uncertainty. Are you troubled? Yes! We do not know what the future holds, but my friends, I know WHO holds the future! In this time of darkness, and uncertainty, Jesus is our light and our hope.

In the book of Matthew, the apostle tells the story about when Peter walked on water.

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.  After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ^and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.  When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Peter was actually walking on the water! But, when he took his eyes off Jesus, and focused on the obstacles in front of him, the wind and the waves, he sank! Can you imagine what that moment must have been like? The bible doesn’t tell us how far Peter walked, whether it was a few steps or some distance. But it does tell us that when Peter began to sink, Jesus reached out and caught him! I think that Peter walked a good distance on the water. While he kept his eyes on Jesus and his mind focused, he was able to do the impossible! As soon as his attention was diverted…he sank!

Right now, we are all in a boat together. In our lifetime, there has never been a time such as this. We have the choice to either cry out in fear or take courage! I would encourage you today my friend, that when you see the wind and are buffeted by the waves, keep your focus on Jesus. Turn your eyes upon him and we will walk across this pandemic; we will not sink as we keep our eyes on his glory and his grace.